Co-Cathedral of Saint Mary (Caceres)
The Co-Cathedral of St. Mary, also known as the Holy Church Co-Cathedral of St. Mary, is the most important temple in Caceres and also the oldest. Its construction ended in the mid-16th century on the foundations of a building from the 13th century.
Romanesque and pre-Gothic in style, this church was built entirely with granite ashlars. Its façade stands out with its two Gothic-style portals – the first of the Gospel in front of the Episcopal Palace, and the second, the main one, containing the heraldry of the Orellana with Romanesque corbels on the cornice.
It is a temple of monumental dimensions and very thick walls but with a single Renaissance-style tower with three rectangular bodies crowned by flamingos on which storks' nests can be found.
The church has very high Gothic ribbed vaults, with keystones and crisscrossings adorned with a series of heraldic emblems of the noble houses of Caceres society.
The church is not only imposing but also majestic and abundant in patrimonial treasures and valuable works of art. For example, it contains several richly decorated chapels, among them: that of the Blázquez, which contains a carving of the Black Christ of Caceres from the 14th century; that of St. Anne from 1446; and another from St. Michael from 1551, with bars decorated with a Baroque altarpiece and noble shields.
Other works of great value are an extraordinary Plateresque main altarpiece from the 16th century, richly decorated and adorned, made of Flanders cedar and pine, the work of Guillén Ferrant, and a Plateresque doorway in the sacristy, also from the 16th century, the work of Alonso de Torralba.
Inside the sacristy is the Co-Cathedral Museum, which houses valuable pieces of silver, as well as Baroque paintings.
Due to its immense artistic, historical and patrimonial value, the Co-Cathedral of St. Mary was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1931.
Romanesque and pre-Gothic in style, this church was built entirely with granite ashlars. Its façade stands out with its two Gothic-style portals – the first of the Gospel in front of the Episcopal Palace, and the second, the main one, containing the heraldry of the Orellana with Romanesque corbels on the cornice.
It is a temple of monumental dimensions and very thick walls but with a single Renaissance-style tower with three rectangular bodies crowned by flamingos on which storks' nests can be found.
The church has very high Gothic ribbed vaults, with keystones and crisscrossings adorned with a series of heraldic emblems of the noble houses of Caceres society.
The church is not only imposing but also majestic and abundant in patrimonial treasures and valuable works of art. For example, it contains several richly decorated chapels, among them: that of the Blázquez, which contains a carving of the Black Christ of Caceres from the 14th century; that of St. Anne from 1446; and another from St. Michael from 1551, with bars decorated with a Baroque altarpiece and noble shields.
Other works of great value are an extraordinary Plateresque main altarpiece from the 16th century, richly decorated and adorned, made of Flanders cedar and pine, the work of Guillén Ferrant, and a Plateresque doorway in the sacristy, also from the 16th century, the work of Alonso de Torralba.
Inside the sacristy is the Co-Cathedral Museum, which houses valuable pieces of silver, as well as Baroque paintings.
Due to its immense artistic, historical and patrimonial value, the Co-Cathedral of St. Mary was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1931.
Location
What to see in Caceres
